Sixty Second Shooter Prime

By: Robert Murphy

Anyone who has spent their time searching through the Xbox arcade before will have undoubtedly come across a game called Geometry Wars which pits a tiny ship against waves of increasingly difficult enemy ships and challenging events. The game style is not something new and while searching through the Xbox One arcade recently I discovered a game that struck me to be in similar fashion, Sixty Second Shooter Prime. In this adaptation of this twin stick style of game you play as a small ship that also progresses through waves of enemies that include enemy ships, spiral like objects, giant three dimensional cubes and much more. Your goal is to hopefully progress further and further to higher levels trying to survive and reach a larger score than the last time with your missiles and guns by your side.

Besides Geometry Wars, I have played a number of this style of game before and it truly can be a hit or miss type of thing to play especially with how limited it can be for those making the game. When it comes to Sixty Second Shooter Prime we see examples of just how limited things can be but can still see the fun to be had. Much of the games graphics are basic and feature simple shapes for your ship and your enemies as well, it feels like many of them could be drawn on a napkin by someone trying to make cool three dimensional shapes. The backgrounds are not any better, lumpy clouds, dizzying arrays of random colors and stark lines that cut randomly through the playable field make things not only confusing but very unimpressive to play on. These and other features such as different songs can be selected in the main menu for the game but this doesn't make the game any more impressive to play through if you're hoping for more appeal in a different background. Other visual effects that will come as you fight to survive through the waves of enemies include the large explosions that come with so many other games like it. This can be caused by hitting a very high combo which explodes everything in the nearby area in a chain reaction, while this is great to accomplish it the joy can be immediately taken away by the confusion of the explosion leading you to hit an enemy you didn't see. 

Getting into the gameplay, Sixty Second Shooter Prime plays like a game that wants to rush through it because you either die instantly or you have to hurry up and make a large score before the time runs down. It isn't to exciting when a game puts a time limit over your head especially when the time frame is sixty seconds, it causes a panic almost with a player and I believe that's why many games have done away with it entirely. Never the less you must try and climb through the levels with your odd space ship destroying everything using bombs, missiles and guns hoping for a higher score each time. You can also collect a variety of power ups such as time slow down, invincibility, multipliers and additional missiles, this was one thing I really thought was stellar about the game and helped make me feel the addiction that the game meant to give off. Another addition that helps the game is the Infinity Mode that takes you away from the panic and the short lived momentum of the 60 second mode and lets you add more time through power ups the longer you survive. 

In conclusion, Sixty Second Shooter Prime is a let down of a game especially when you look at some of the competitors it has and the other games that have been around with twin stick format. The game isn't at all that expensive though and can provide you with some amusement for a short time but that is about all you get with the amount of content the game has in store for anyone who purchases it. Maybe if the game gets a little more work put into it it could have some potential but outside of what you have right now I can't see anyone playing for too long. 

Good:

- Can be enjoyable when you get going like any twin stick shooter

- Power ups are fun and add to the minor addiction 

- Infinity Mode helps break up the short gameplay

Bad:

- You will feel rushed while playing through most of the game

- Visuals and graphics are very unimpressive

- Lack a lot of content, you will unlock everything in an hour of playing

Scully Rating: 4.0 out of 10 

Battlefield 4

By: Robert Murphy

Now I know some of you may be mad when I say this but I didn’t begin my journey into the Battlefield genre with, Battlefield 1942, which was a defining game for the franchise but I started out with Battlefield: Bad Company and I have been hooked ever since. This love continued into the ridiculous world of Bad Company 2 and the incredibly realistic feel of Battlefield 3 and now we have finally gotten our hands on the latest foray into the franchise Battlefield 4. Once again we are shown a world that we only here about on the news, with such realistic action, sounds and devastation, all right in front of you on the screen and you control the action.

Digging right into the campaign, we see something that honestly I wasn’t expecting and that was something lack luster that hits every branch on the cliché tree with a running through back allies and sewers, a jail break mission with a creepy mole like man, backstabs and betrayals, I mean this was not what I was expecting. Granted not a lot of people go into Battlefield for the campaign but still at least Battlefield 3 gave us a solid story and a few good hours of gameplay, along with some standalone two player co-op missions for you and your friends. For the most part the campaign tried to mix and match old glories by adding some humor with massive explosions and gun fights all over the place and me being left with the question, was there a story in there somewhere? The new gameplay allowed for you to preform squad commands for your team that pin pointed enemies and would tell your buddies who to attack but I never ended up using this feature since I had already killed them all by the time I remembered the feature in the first place. So I guess all I can say is, I know where the work went into this game and that was the multiplayer.

Much too my joy, I found a massive amount of action and life in the multiplayer for Battlefield 4 and this is honestly where you’ll want to hang your hats. All the classic game modes are back, Conquest, Team Deathmatch, Domination and more, there is no shortage of ways to enjoy online play but that also becomes clear with the astounding maps we have to choose from. Maps are now bigger and better than ever with the capability to be completely obliterated with the new ability to totally destroy a map like a hotel completely crumbling and crashing to the ground, changing the environment and your gameplay. This crazy and awe inspiring moment will leave you pause as you contemplate just exactly what the hell is going on around you but at the same time you still need to keep moving on with the game. Another aspect that affects the gameplay momentum is the environment itself as some levels come with horrible weather conditions that inhibit your movements so if you’re unfortunate to get caught in the down coming storm you can meet with a bullet to the chest.

Also we see a new element come to Battlefield 4’s multiplayer and that is the Commander Mode, this allows for one player opting out of being on the ground and taking the lead role in coordinating attacks that your teammates carry out. The feature can be used in Conquest, Obliteration and Rush game modes and adds a whole new element to the way the battle unfolds. Commanders can give orders for reinforcements to under fire units or send in UAV’s to let your allies know what an enemy controlled post will have in store for them. Teammates who then capture a specified area will earn points for the commander which can be used on things like cruise missiles to be used on the opposing team. This adds more enjoyment for the more strategy based gamers who want to plan out attacks and give troops commands, making it more than a first person shooter.

We also see the return of many amazing features from past games that make a return this time around, not only in multiplayer but in single player as well. Weapons are once again scarily realistic, not only in looks but in sound as well, weapons are all around breathtaking once again as they were in Battlefield 3 and are a welcomed return. Especially with the attention to detail in every action you go through with your hardware, guns will kick, reload times are not like magic and happen as fast as a normal man could reload a gun and bullets drop from your gun and you can even hear them hit the ground, especially if you’re sniping. Another big ticket item to make its way back in Battlefield 4 are the vehicles, now more than ever they play a big role in game types and add even more realism to the game as you can cause large devastation in a tank but it can lumber around and is vulnerable to attacks if not positioned correctly. From buggies to boats, jets and helicopters, there is no shortage of ways to get around a map with you and your teammates.

Now while Battlefield 4 seemed to have fallen in the way of its campaign, it is back and better than ever with its multiplayer element. The game brings back a realistic feel that players have come to love since Battlefield 3 and with a definite touch up to all aspect since the last time we sat down and enjoyed the gameplay. Maps are larger, well thought out and extremely enjoyable to play on especially with the vehicles that we have to choose from in game modes like conquest. And with the new Commander mode, more heavily strategy based gamers can delve into the game in a whole new way, sending in forces, UAV’s, missile strikes and more.

Good:

-Return of an amazing and realistic first person shooter

-Incredibly designed new maps

-Commander mode is fun and addicting

-A strong return of multiplayer gaming

Bad:

-Lack luster campaign

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10 

2 Guns

By Robert Murphy

Hey everybody, it’s off to the movies to find out if I wasted ten dollars on a box office bust or not and with 2 Guns I was definitely on the fence on whether or not I’d be getting my money’s worth out of the deal but I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. For starters, what drew me into the movie in the first place was the two lead actors that we had to enjoy, both Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington have consistently hit their mark on the films they have been in and 2 Guns was no different. The two are put together in a buddy cop/buddy pretend drug dealer action movie, exchanging not only gun fire along the way but also quick witted blows at one another that strike the funny bone just right. But the best part is that the two don’t even know that they are each undercover agents working towards the same goal. Denzel Washington takes on the role of Bobby Trench, a DEA agent with a swagger and flare of the rat pack era about him and Mark Wahlberg plays Marcus Stigman, a Navy Seal officer who has a cocky, bad boy attitude to him that fits him all too well.

Hey what’s not to love about these two

What follows on screen is a series of double crossings, after the two decide to knock over a bank that ends up carrying way more money than it should have had in it and the two quickly realize that they have been set up and that they are both not who they are pretending to be. So what does anybody do in this kind of situation, dust themselves off and decide to team up and find out just who and why they were set up in the first place.  The two proceed to go back to their individual bosses, crossing over from the Mexican border where they were working on taking down a cocaine kingpin, played by Edward James Olmos. This dusty back drop in Mexico makes for an almost old era vibe where everyone carried a gun and there were legendary sure shots all around that could shoot wings off of a fly and all that jazz. This gets a modern update obviously as Washington and Wahlberg track down their betrayers while showing off some pretty crazy action scenes such as Wahlberg’s character one shotting a helicopter pilot while its flying through the air for example. This being an issue I found with the movie but then again action movies have that hard to believe affect a lot of the times that you just have to get over and just enjoy the epicness of no matter how impossible it may be.

So things went according to plan then?

Washington and Wahlberg have never been better as I’ve said, they honestly are what bumps up this otherwise average, opposites attract, buddy cop, action film. Washington takes on more of an eased back character as opposed to the serious roles he’s taken part in lately and he performs perfectly to the task while at the same time maintaining a gruff demeanor to who he trusts in his life. Then we Wahlberg, who always plays a bit of spunky and full of energy kind of character and that doesn’t change here for as soon as the two decide to work together, Wahlberg becomes a kid in a candy store jumping for joy to have his buddy back. What sets 2 Guns apart from other butt kicking duo movie you might ask, that is that the story has a great plot and features plenty of double crossing, back stabbing goodness that separates the film from just being another action film or buddy comedy. I can’t dig too much though into all the double crossing, mainly because I don’t want to spoil it for the rest of you, you’ll just have to see that for yourself.

I don’t know, it’s nice but is there any good schools near by

Bottom line is I was pleasantly surprised with the experience that I had with 2 Guns, not only was there lots of laughs and action but the story didn’t get lost in all of that, there were enjoyable plot twists and double crossings along the way and brought the action and laughs along with it. This comes together with an all-star cast of characters, Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington are on their A game as anyone would expect. The two are what drew me into the movie and I am so happy that they did because they worked so well together, bouncing back and forth off of each other with smart mouthed jabs from Mark and the don’t mess with me attitude of Washington. There are those eye brow raising moments in 2 Guns as I said but it is an action movie and they do tend to happen time and again and often times the ridiculous and awesome stunts are what we all love. In the wake of all the so-so movies I have seen this year, 2 Guns was just what I needed to see to keep what little faith there is to be had in Hollywood lately.

Good:

-Great lead characters, Wahlberg and Washington made a great pair and were perfect for the parts

-The plot twists weren’t shocking but still were much better than I expected from the movie

-Plenty of laughs and action that were balanced perfectly with the story

Bad:

-The questionable action moments, like really questionable

Scully Rating: 8.8 out of 10